Pass Rush Frazzles Ryan; Now a Tougher Test Looms

January 9, 2012

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—To understand the effect that the Giants' pass rush had on the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Matt Ryan on Sunday, one needed to see just two plays: the first time Ryan dropped back to throw and the last time. He ended both in the same position: flat on his back.

On the first, Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty burst through the center of the Atlanta offensive line and drilled Ryan as he released the football, forcing an incompletion. On the last—the perfect punctuation mark on New York's 24-2 victory—defensive end Osi Umenyiora surged past Falcons left tackle Will Svitek and yanked Ryan to the ground, stopping a score-for-pride's-sake drive on the Giants' 17-yard line.

ENLARGE

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (C) is surrounded and tackled down by the New York Giants defense in the third quarter of their NFC wild-card game on Sunday.
European Pressphoto Agency

For a team that bases its Super Bowl aspirations on its ability to terrorize opposing quarterbacks, the Giants couldn't have opened this postseason in better fashion. They sacked Ryan twice, hit him seven times and thoroughly disrupted what had been a productive Atlanta passing attack. "They won the battle at the line of scrimmage," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "That was the 'must' that we had to accomplish, and we didn't get that done."

The performance of New York's defensive line Sunday was at once a reminder of the franchise's most recent moment of glory and, the Giants hope, a sign of things to come. In February 2008, the Giants won themselves a Super Bowl on the strength of a pass rush so relentless that it rattled Tom Brady and muted the New England Patriots' offense, one of the most explosive in NFL history. They'll face a similar challenge next week in the divisional round against the Green Bay Packers, who went 15-1 this season after winning last year's Super Bowl, and Aaron Rodgers, the prospective league MVP.

Falcons center Todd McClure said that the Giants' pass rush gave them a fair chance of upsetting the Packers. "You never know. When they get to the quarterback, that's a different team," he said of the Giants. "I have a lot of, I guess, confidence in that group that they can get to the passer."

By pressuring Ryan so frequently and keeping their secondary in conservative coverages, the Giants removed any dynamism from the Falcons' passing attack. Ryan didn't have a completion of more than 21 yards Sunday, and his 41 passes grossed just 199 yards, a paltry 4.9 yards per attempt. When his receivers were open down the field, he didn't have time to get the ball to them. When he had time, they weren't open.

"They had good calls at the right time," Ryan said.

But there is a significant difference between Atlanta's offense under Ryan and Green Bay's under Rodgers. The Falcons' is predicated on timing and rhythm, in part because Ryan doesn't have a particularly strong arm. (On the final play of the first half, from the Falcons' 45-yard line, Ryan heaved a Hail Mary pass that didn't reach the end zone.) Rodgers has no such limitations. He's regarded as having one of the strongest and most accurate arms the sport has seen, and while rolling out or avoiding defenders, Rodgers can make throws Ryan can't.

The Giants, of course, already have seen what Rodgers can do: He threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns against them on Dec. 4, leading the Packers on a last-minute drive for the winning field goal in their 38-35 victory. But New York didn't have its full complement of defensive linemen available in that game. (Umenyiora was out with an injury.) They did Sunday against the Falcons.

"They're a great defensive line," Svitek said. "We knew exactly what we were facing. They were probably the best D-line we faced all year. They have a great rush. When you face the Giants, you don't have much time."

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